Paralympian champion to emcee Legion’s national convention
Melissa Stockwell grew up as a gymnast, dreaming of representing America in the Olympics.
She started gymnastics at age 5 and continued through high school, when she also participated in pole vaulting and diving. At the University of Colorado in Boulder, Stockwell was on the crew and dive teams. She also joined the ROTC.
Instead of the Olympics, Stockwell followed another passion after college. “I joined the Army because I love our country,” said the medically retired lieutenant. “I wanted to give back. I realized at a young age how lucky we are to live where we do and I just wanted to be a part of that.”
Two years into her service, she deployed to Iraq with the 1st Calvary Division. On April 13, 2004, she was riding in a Humvee on a routine convoy through central Baghdad when a roadside bomb detonated.
“It was a big blast, a deafening boom,” Stockwell recalled. “The vehicle swerved, we hit a guardrail, and ended up crashing into an Iraqi woman’s house. I was lucky that there was a combat medic about two vehicles back. I called out that I was hurt and he rushed up and pulled me out of the vehicle and started to administer first aid.”
Stockwell was rushed to the nearest American hospital, which was in central Baghdad. When she woke up from life-saving surgery she learned her left leg was gone.
“Granted I was under a lot of pain meds, but my very first thoughts were, I was glad it was me and not another one of my soldiers,” remembered Stockwell, the first American female to lose a limb in combat. “I knew I had a strong support system. I knew from the beginning that I would be able to get through it.”
Not only did Stockwell survive, she has thrived. She is a three-time Paratriathlon world champion and won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, became a mother to two children and started her own nonprofit. In August, Stockwell will serve as the emcee at The American Legion’s 100th national convention in Minneapolis.
Stockwell, who was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, spent a year recovering and rehabilitating at Walter Reed Medical Center.
“I saw so many other soldiers that were missing two limbs, traumatic brain injuries, they had lost their eyesight, they were missing three or four limbs,” she said. “I really realized how lucky I was. I mean it was just one leg. That put things into perspective very early on that I only lost one leg and I had my life. It helped.”
Stockwell, who lives with her husband Brian and children in a Chicago suburb, credits her family members and friends for being a strong support system. Her natural optimism helped, too.
“I have always been this eternal optimist, probably almost annoyingly so for some people,” she said. “It really helped in a situation like that. Anytime I had a bad moment, I could just look around and think, ‘Why am I feeling sorry for myself?’ I have three limbs. I have my mind. I have my eyesight. I have my heart. That was the important thing. I think the combination of support system, perspective and keeping that eternal optimism just led me to success.”
Instead of dwelling on her loss, Stockwell focused on recovery and ambitious goals. “After I lost my leg, one of the first things I wanted to do was get back to being an athlete.”
A second chance
But Stockwell had to relearn how to walk before she could run, bike or swim. It was the first of two defining moments for her recovery.
“They hand you this piece of metal and plastic and say, ‘This is your leg,’” Stockwell said. “I remember I stood up in the parallel bars and they say, ‘Now, you’re going to walk.’ And I looked across the physical therapy gym and there was a gentleman missing both of his legs and an arm and he was walking. So any doubt that I had just flew out the window. That day I knew I would be able to walk again.”
The second moment was when she returned to Colorado for a ski program at Vail.
“I had grown up skiing on both of my legs and here I was learning to ski on one leg,” she recalled. “They brought my family out there and I learned to ski on one leg. I was pretty hesitant at first but by the end of the week, flying down that mountain with the wind in my hair on one leg and that reassured me that I could still be an athlete. I could still do anything that I wanted to do.”
After that trip, Stockwell attended a presentation at Walter Reed about joining the U.S. Paralympic team. “I listened to someone tell me that if I trained hard enough, dedicated myself to a sport, that I could be a Paralympian and I could represent my country on the world’s biggest stage,” she recalled. “Growing up I wanted to be an Olympian as a gymnast so this was a second chance. A dream was born pretty quickly that I wanted to be a Paralympian.”
Initially, she tried swimming and represented Team USA on the 2008 team. Then triathlons called.
“Representing Team USA is one of the greatest honors,” Stockwell said, beaming. “I was able to wear the military uniform and defend our country in war. And then to be able to wear a uniform to represent our country on the world’s biggest athlete stage. Wearing a uniform that has USA on it truly is one of my greatest accomplishments.”
Stockwell competes in the sprint distance in triathlons. It’s a half-mile swim, followed by a 13-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. She focuses on speed work, balancing training sessions for each of the disciplines, completing about 10 to 12 hours per week.
Her goal: represent Team USA at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
“I competed in 2008 and 2016, and I’d love to have one more shot in 2020,” she said. “I am coming back from having a baby; seeing if I can compete with other athletes who are 11 years younger than I am. But I am going to give it a shot.”
Stockwell says swimming is her strongest sport and she is proud of her improvement on the bike. “The run is always the hardest,” she admitted. “It’s the last thing. You have already biked, you already swam and you’re just trying to get to that finish.”
She balances her training commitment with family responsibilities and managing her nonprofit. Her son, Dallas, turns 4 in November; daughter, Millie, will turn 1 in August.
“Being a mother is the greatest job in the world,” Stockwell said. “I love being a mom. They just add so much to my life, so much depth and fun. I cherish every day, every moment. I know it goes fast. I just try to show them that their mom with one leg can do everything that everyone else can do. I think it is pretty cool that they are going to grow up knowing their mom looks a little different, and it’s OK.”
Stockwell co-founded Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club. It introduces athletes with physical disabilities to triathlons. The nonprofit provides the equipment, coaching and transportation to various clinics.
“We take all the barriers away and we show them that they can do a triathlon,” she said. “We have practices every week. We have a military camp, a kids camp. We provide everything they need. They get to the starting line, they finish it and their mind is opened up to all the things they can do. For us, the finish line is typically the beginning for a lot of our athletes and it’s pretty incredible just to see the self-confidence and self-worth that somebody can gain.”
As she balances her own daily triathlon — family, training and the nonprofit — Stockwell relies on her military experience.
“There are certain values in the military that I think stay with us forever,” she said. “Certain things like commitment, teamwork – little things like being on time. I was dedicated to my country, to my platoon, and I show up – typically if you show up on time you’re late. I am always the first one there.”
Stockwell is working hard toward her goal for wearing the red, white and blue one more time in 2020.
“I have a goal in mind — just like in the military — I have a mission in mind that I am going to complete,” she said. “All these things help me with everything in life, especially athletics. I just want to perform the best that I can and have my country be proud of me.”